Ask us about PEACE Magazine!

PEACE IS A LABOR OF LOVE-A PROJECT THAT IS carried out almost entirely by volunteers. Our aim is to disseminate accurate information about the militarization of the planet, and particularly about the nuclear arms race. We serve two audiences-the Canadian peace movement, and the non-activists who have not become active yet in the work for disarmament, but who are interested in informing themselves. Thus we cover complex issues about which many of our readers are already expert, but we try to write in plain language to keep our articles accessible to the average reader.

How The Magazine Began. PEACE grew out of a small calendar of peace events that began to be punished around Christmas of 1982 by CANDIS (the Canadian Disarmament Information Service) immediately after it was founded. The Information service, which was for a year or so the nerve centre for the Toronto peace movement, gradually became less necessary as other groups set up offices of their own. But, as the rest of our work diminished, our publication grew-from a free tabloid paper, The Peace Calendar, to (in March, 1985) PEACE Magazine.

Direction and Ownership. This magazine belongs to the Canadian peace movement. To secure the widest possible base in that community, our Board of Directors (which numbers up to 15), comprises the nominees of various nation-wide Canadian peace organizations. Our present Directors belong to Science for Peace, Lawyers for Social Responsibility, Project Ploughshares, Operation Dismantle, the Voice of Women, the United Church Peace Network, Veterans Against Nuclear Arms, Psychologists for Social Responsibility, the Canadian Labour Congress, Performing Artists for Nuclear Disarmament, Canadian Pugwash, and the Survival Committee of the National Action Council for the Status of Women. The Directors own and determine the policies of the magazine. We are always looking for ways to make the magazine even more responsive to the peace movement.

Editorial and Production Work: The work of producing the magazine is carried out by volunteers, apart from one paid office manager and a few hours per issue of paid work by a computer consultant and an art director.

We have two groups of editors-Advisory Editors and Associate Editors. Many of the Advisory Editors live in distant parts of Canada. We consult them for suggestions as to topics and writers when planning future issues.

The Associate Editors meet several times per month to plan upcoming issues. They take the suggestions of Advisory Editors and attempt to put them into effect. They also review manuscripts, take some of them home for intensive editing, and proofread.

Most of the material that we publish arrives, unsolicited, in our mailbox. We provide, in effect, a voice for the Canadian peace movement for its internal dialogue.

For the past six months, the production has been done using new, cost-cutting methods. The Editor-in-Chief (and occasionally other volunteers) types the manuscripts into a word processor, then converts them to pages, which are printed on a laser printer. These pages then are sent to the printing house (Del Charters, a union firm) which "shoots them" and prints them on a web press. Our press run is between 8000 and 10,000 copies per month (most of them distributed without charge as our contribution to the planet).

We thank all our many contributors, and the Editor apologizes for not always answering her mail. The management of the magazine is extraordinarily time-consuming, amounting to far more than one full-time job, so that some duties have to be skipped. As more volunteers present themselves, we hope to delegate more of these tasks and become freer to respond to inquiries.

Editorial Policy: PEACE works within the following guidelines: We are basically an open forum. If one point of view seems over-represented in the magazine, it is usually because the alternative points of view are not sent to us. We try hard to avoid promoting one position over any other-apart from explicitly favoring multilateral nuclear disarmament. We do not try to cover every topic, but stick to the following subjects: (1) the nuclear arms race and what can be done about it; (2) the doings of peace activists (covering whatever befalls activists-from going to jail to being awarded a Nobel Prize); (3) approaches to nonviolence and conflict resolution; (4) the relations between the superpowers; and (5) Canada's military policy.

There are many other topics that frequently overlap with our central concerns-e.g. ecology, nuclear energy, feminism, party politics, and the wars and injustices perpetrated in other countries, such as the struggle against apartheid, and the wars in Afghanistan and Central America. We cover these topics only in articles that focus on their connection with one of our five core topics. Thus we would not discuss feminism as such, but would welcome a debate about the relationship between gender and military aggression. We would not cover the problems of Nicaragua as such, but would welcome a discussion of the use of nonviolence in that war zone.

Financing: Obviously, every magazine is costly to produce-even one that is done by volunteers. We have been fortunate in receiving support from the disarmament fund of the Ministry of External Affairs, from the Canadian Institute fur International Peace and Security, and from the City of Toronto. Also, the Church of the Holy Trinity, which was our original sponsor, has continued contributing. We must continue relying largely on private donations. Although they have grown this year, our subscriptions still cover only the minor part of our costs, and we have been informed that funding from public sources will diminish. For these reasons, we hope to develop a closer relationship with the major peace groups in Canada, so that we can become self-sufficient.

Volunteers: We need, not only more donations but also more hands, to make the magazine flourish. Our group of editors is usually sufficient, but we always have a need for typists who are willing to learn computer typesetting and page-making. We also need volunteers who will make phone calls, sell advertising, organize fundraising appeals and projects, deliver magazines around Toronto, and staff booths for us at conferences. The staff and Board get together about once per issue (every two months) to plan, enjoy a potluck meal, and talk about our work. if you are interested in working with us, please call our office --533-7581.

Even if you don't live near Toronto, you can help: Ask your group to order the magazine in bulk, then sell it and make a little profit. Or ask your local library to subscribe to PEACE. Or buy a subscription for your three best friends. Or for the person in your life who most needs to become informed. We're trying to serve you-and humanity-by putting together information that truly makes a difference. You can serve us-and humanity-by helping to disseminate

that information. Thanks! The Editor U